1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to containers for bulk material or the like, and more particularly to a bulk material container with a support stand therefor and the manufacture of such container and support stand.
2. Background Art
Many industrial and commercial products, supplied in bulk form, are stored in containers made of thermoplastics for example. Such containers may be used for holding liquids, such as detergents or pesticides, or solid material, such as powdered detergents or food mixes. These containers have also been adapted to store particulate matter such as marking particles for electrostatographic reproduction apparatus.
It is common practice in the handling of such containers that the container be shipped or stored in an upright condition. This is necessary to prevent spillage or undue agglomeration of the bulk material. When the container has other than a completely flat bottom, upright orientation of the container requires some sort of support stand for the container. One type of support stand includes a wireform member designed to engage the container and form a substantially flat base therefor. However, such wireform support stands have been found to damage containers by poking holes in the sides thereof.
Another type of support stand for bulk material containers is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,168, issued Nov. 25, 1969, in the name of Lee. Such stand includes support feet created with the container when the container is formed. When the container is formed in a mold by conventional extrusion blow molding techniques, two of the support feet may be formed at the parting line from the normal flash. The remaining two support feet, respectively spaced 90.degree. from the first mentioned feet, are formed by using a split section in the base of the mold at 90.degree. to the parting line. As such the mold is of a rather complicated construction, whereby the resulting footed container becomes expensive to produce. Further, because the feet of the support stand intersect at a point substantially directly beneath the center of gravity of the container, the container is only marginally stable in its upright orientation.